Monday, 15 October 2018

Favourite Memoirs (So Far!)

Memoirs and personal essay collections are among my favourite genre. Now that I've read my fair few, I feel qualified to give you my best picks !

7. Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso
Described by the New York Magazine as the millennial alternative to Lean In ; Girlboss tells the story of American businesswoman Sophia Amoruso, who found herself unemployed and broke at 22. She went on to start an eBay store selling Vintage clothing, a business which grew into the fashion retailer, Nasty Gal. Sophia's experiences are not only laugh out loud funny but also riddled with life lessons about starting a business, money, workplace politics, confidence and creativity. Girlboss will change the way you talk to yourself !

6. The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae
HBO's Insecure is hands down one of the best shows of our generation and Issa Rae is the actress, Executive Producer, writer and all-round powerhouse behind the show. The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl, is a bold, funny collection of essays about hair, the beginning stages of her career, being an introvert, her childhood - all stories that give you a little insight into the woman she is.

5. The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
One of my most anticipated reads of 2018 was this gem ! Each chapter chronicles an aspect of her life growing up or a specific lesson learnt and is told through some laugh-out-loud anecdotes. The book also highlights some of the darker, more difficult moments in her life. She covers being in the foster care system, finding comedy at just age 13, enduring abuse and not so great relationships, growing into a positive person as well as sexism + all other trials in the comedy industry. The overarching theme I'd say was being resilient and believing in yourself and your craft even when no- one else does.

3. This Is Just My Face Try Not To Stare by Gabourey Sidibe
Who KNEW Gabourey Sidibe was so funny?! I devoured this book over a few journeys to work (the rare occasions I didn't sleep). If your sense of humour is quite dry, you'll love this one. She talks about complicated family dynamics, being diagnosed and treated for depression, relationship trials, being a call girl and how she fell into and found her now rising career. And while these topics seem pretty dark, I promise you she recounts them in such a hilarious, uplifting way.

2. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
Rarely do audiences get access to go beyond the glossy, bright-eyed, funny man surface of many comedians and there's a pretty well-established line between the two. Born a Crime is essentially, Trevor Noah, drawing his fans in and showing us the other side. The memoir chronicles Noah's childhood growing up mixed-race in apartheid South Africa, where laws prohibited any romantic or sexual relationship between black and white people. Trevor ofcourse being evidence of this law being broken meant a childhood in partial hiding, confusion over his identity and lots more. It's one of those books I saw many people reading on the tube so, join the fam if you haven't already. Check out my longer review here and then find yourself a copy of this book! Using my affiliate link of course 😉

1. Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling / Hunger by Roxane Gay
We've got a joint first ! and these two books could not be more different. I couldn't decide which I prefered because I connected to them for completely different reasons. Why Not Me is Mindy Kaling's second book and luurved it pretty much for the same reasons I loved her first book. I finished that one wanting more and this just delivered to be honest. Her career blew up between the first and second book so it was also great to see her carry on with the life surprises and lessons learnt along the way. Let's be honest, her life has blown up even more since soooo imma need a 3rd installment.

Hunger, where do I even begin with this book?! It is honest and raw and gritty and acutely self aware and beautiful. It is all those adjectives to the 100th degree ... and then some. I know, I'm doing the most but pals, this book is incredible and will leave you trying to process everything months after you read it. It essentially chronicles the author's up and down relationship with her body and her writing is just divine. She's able to articulate emotions I just never thought someone could articulate and every sentence seems so considered and powerful.